How long was she supposed to shelter this boy? She had never met anyone so mysterious. Despite spying on him at every chance she got, Nova couldn't see him doing anything peculiar. She even wondered whether he was aware she was watching. Perhaps, she would try stalking him.
The next day, once the chime for the end of the lessons rang, the hallway next to Nova's class filled with the sound of footsteps and chit-chat. The subject teacher looked outside with a disgusted expression before dismissing the class.
The practice session was going to take thirty minutes, after which everyone would be free to leave the school. This half hour felt like a trip to hell.
Sports weren't Nova's forte; in fact, aside from swimming, she was sure she couldn't do anything else.
"Maybe if my head wasn't buried in books all day."
Carrying her backpack, she exited the class before anyone else and headed to the swimming pool area, aiming to be an early bird.
From an outsider's perspective, this school was rather strict, with well-mannered students. However, in actuality, the majority were rotten.
"They can stare all they want if it helps," she muttered, turning a corner by the gymnasium.
The smell of chlorine and cheerful voices filled the air as Nova's eyes landed on the azure waters.
The two 25-meter swimming pools were already crowded with boys and girls, splashing water at each other.
"Great, another useless endeavor."
Should she ignore the sight and enter the water?
No, they would try to include her in their silly games.
Furthermore, with everyone all over the water, it would be hard to practice swimming.
She turned and headed to the gymnasium, where she was welcomed by the squeaking of sneakers on the floor.
A basketball team was running shooting drills, while on one of the two volleyball cross-courts, serves were being practiced.
"At least there's etiquette here," she murmured, walking along the court so as not to get in the way.
The other volleyball cross-court wasn't being used.
She walked there, dropped her bag on the floor, then picked up a ball.
Before tossing it up, she looked to her side. Would she stand out?
Fortunately, everyone appeared to be minding their business.
This was until someone—Orlyssa—walked up behind her. Nova trained her gaze on her as she slowly walked to the other side of the volleyball court. Had she been in the gymnasium all along?
Standing on the other side, she stooped, smiling at Nova.
The hairs on Nova's arms stood on end. What was that smile even supposed to mean?
Nova started dribbling the ball, before asking, "What hole have you crawled from?"
'What hole have I...?'
Orlyssa's smile only widened. "I'll tell you, but only if you win a game against me." She demonstrated a serve.
"Girl, you've got no shame?"
Orlyssa tilted her head, trying to pick up what Nova had murmured.
Nova's hand hovered over the ball. She couldn't forget the atrocity Orlyssa had committed against her, and a part of her wanted to just turn and walk away. Even so, the desire to experience a real game was too strong to resist.
"You're confident you'd win, huh?"
"Wouldn't I?" Orlyssa responded, still smiling.
Nova's eyes slowly moved from Orlyssa's legs to her arms.
Seeing Nova scrutinizing her body, she added, "Don't let the looks fool you."
"Sigh. Guess we'll find out."
Saying this, Nova went and stood behind the baseline in the back-left corner. After scanning the other side of the court, she decided to wear Orlyssa down. She tossed the ball high in front, ran, and jumped into the air, before channeling all her strength into her striking arm and hitting the ball with a thwack.
The pleats of her skirt flared out, revealing her panties. However, her mind was on the ball as it crossed over the net and on her body's sensations. Her palm tingled with sharp stings, yet the contact it made with the ball was satisfying.
The smile on Orlyssa's face immediately vanished.
"What the fuck?!"
The ball sharply arced with blurring speed, leaving her no room to think. She had to run. But, not to the sides or to the front. Rather, to the far back-right corner.
She quickly ran back, her shoes scraping against the polished wood. Despite her speed, it didn't seem like she would succeed in making a dig, so she lunged, her entire body parallel to the floor, before stretching out her arm for a one-handed dig.
The ball slammed into the floor with a deafening thud. Fortunately, it was inches out from the baseline.
"Heh!" She heavily exhaled, standing up and staring at Nova with furrowed eyebrows. Was she the one that had judged the book by its cover? The precision, strength, and agility that Nova had demonstrated were dangerous. She had to be careful.
Seeing Orlyssa's expression, the corner of Nova's lips curled up. Though she was one point down, there was something satisfying in Orlyssa's reaction. She couldn't get enough of her desperate look.
"Next time I won't miss it."
With a bitter smile, Orlyssa turned to fetch the ball. But, before she could start moving, a vivacious boy appeared before her with the ball in his hand.
His eyes were the color of a stormy sea.
He held the ball out with a mischievous smile. Orlyssa frowned, snatching the ball from his hand. She hadn't expected him to show up here. He really wasn't expecting her to play Cupid between him and Nova already, was he? Otherwise, it would have been useless asking him to wait. Feeling like she would punch him, she turned her back on him.
All this time, Nova was suspiciously watching them. Orlyssa's relationship with the upperclassman was none of her business, but saying she wasn't curious about the boy's presence in the gymnasium would be a lie. He was the school football team captain who liked putting on airs. Did he leave the pitch simply to come here and tease Orlyssa? They must be head over heels, then.
Thinking about this, her eyes unwittingly met his for a second. It was one of those worst feelings, invoking self-consciousness inside her.
Orlyssa stood behind the end line. Given Nova's aggressiveness, she would just lose if she tried to overpower her. She had to outsmart her. She tossed the ball low, just a few feet in front of her.
Seeing this, Nova concluded she was going for a floater. Her eyes quickly flicked at the far back corners, the seams, and the front.
Orlyssa hoped a little bit, striking the ball with a deliberate, deadened pop.
The far back-left corner!
Nova sprinted over there, got her body behind the ball, and watched as it wobbled towards her conjoined arms. Immediately it made contact, she slightly moved her arms back, and it arced off high in front. It hung in the air for a second, before beginning to descend. Nova quickly positioned herself. She sprinted, then leaped, her hand meeting the ball with a powerful slap. This time her palm severely pricked, as though she had whacked some frozen surface.
Orlyssa could only follow the ball with her head as it blurringly screamed through the air, smashing onto her right-back corner with a wham.
Was she really going to win this?
Though she anticipated Nova to go for a hard-driven attack, her body felt like a boulder when she tried to react in time.
"Seriously, that's some weird strength."
She pouted, retrieving the ball from the school team captain's hands. When their lines of sight met, they briefly exchanged a subtle conversation with their eyes.
'Are you always this pathetic?'
'Get out. You're my bad luck.'
The team captain smirked, checking his wristwatch. Five minutes had elapsed since leaving the pitch. In all likelihood, the underclassmen were taking advantage of his absence to goof off. With a brief look at Nova, he walked away.
The game picked up. Nova kept on overpowering Orlyssa with strength and agility. Every calm hit that Orlyssa sent across the net, trying strategic placements, was returned by even harder slams. Nova managed to create a gap of ten points between them. It felt good.
However, as they continued challenging each other, her palm gradually turned beetroot red, burning sharply every time she whacked the ball. She tried changing the form of hitting, but it only worsened. Her previous powerful slams slowly turned soft and awkward.
Orlyssa looked into her eyes through the net. Apparently, she had eventually become aware of Nova's sore palm. This was bad.
The incoming hit from Orlyssa was sharp and heavy. Even so, Nova successfully received it. She jumped, slamming it with her left hand. Unfortunately, it went into the net.
Point, Orlyssa.
From this point on, Nova kept fumbling, mostly from poor hits, and ultimately, Orlyssa came from behind, winning 39-37.
Nova collapsed on the floor, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
Orlyssa went over, extended her arm, hauling her up. She was also heaving. She gave Nova an incredulous look. "Did you play volleyball...in junior high school too?"
Too? Nova was to tell her she simply followed the sport on television, but changed her mind.
"Yeah...Though just a little."
Students were now leaving the gymnasium. Was thirty minutes over already?
Though she had lost to Orlyssa, she couldn't remember the last time she thought she had fun. Her shirt was wet from sweat, some trickling along her back and cleavage.
She parted ways with Orlyssa, heading to the classroom, where she picked her bag and immediately left. As she approached the school entrance, she saw Orlyssa standing there, fanning her unbuttoned shirt. Even with no one around, wasn't she going too far?
After Nova had closed the distance, Orlyssa spoke, "I was waiting for you. Thought we should go home together."
There was no reason to refuse, but Nova couldn't imagine walking beside someone who had their shirt completely open.
"Like that?" She pointed at her unbuttoned shirt.
Orlyssa dramatically pouted. "Seriously? BFFR. Of course I was going to button up."
With that, she buttoned her shirt, and they began walking home.
Partway, Orlyssa proposed that they stop by a store to buy ice cream. Nova was also feeling hot, so this was just the thing.
They entered a store.
The cool, conditioned air was rejuvenating. The two walked to the freezer aisle, and standing there, they looked through the glass door, checking for their preferred flavor. Orlyssa picked chocolate pint, leaving Nova wavering between vanilla and strawberry.
In this state of indecision, someone appeared in the corner of Nova's eye.
What were they doing here?
Nova inadvertently glanced at Orlyssa, who was watching him intently.
He passed behind them, his eyes and Nova's meeting for a second. He had definitely seen her. Would he call out to her?
She wished not. Fortunately, he acted like they were strangers, not sparing a look. Nova sighed inwardly. At least he could reason.
She faced forward, continuing to vacillate on whether she should pick vanilla or strawberry. Eventually, she settled on strawberry. She pulled the freezer's door, and at that moment, she heard a voice calling out.
"Are you buying ice cream?"
Nova squeezed her eyes shut. What the hell did he think she was doing? She turned around, glaring at Ares, who had stopped walking, and had tilted his head as though he were asking a sincere question.